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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bank · land · kid · wave · bay · wind · pitcher · bass

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. land — a country
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — to tease
  8. land — to come down
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bass — low music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wind — moving air
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bass — the fish
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bank — for money
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bank — for money
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com